ONE of the most adorable events in Springwatch history took place today – the mass departure of a family of ducklings from their tree nest.

The eagerly awaited scenes were caught on film from inside the ducklings’ feather-lined nest and also at ground level as the cute babies plunged down to earth with a bump.

While most British ducks nest on the ground, the mandarin duck from China puts its brood through a tough introduction to the world by making its youngsters take to the skies before they can fly.

Over the past week, Springwatch cameras have been following the mother mandarin while she has been incubating her 15 eggs around the clock.

From the start of this season’s series, presenter Chris Packham has been building up the tension for the ducklings’ aerial display, telling viewers how they would be “parachuting” from out of their nest 10ft up in a dead oak tree before taking to the water.

Show producers got their timing spot on. After a 30-day incubation, the eggs hatched and the cameras were at the ready to film the ducklings’ hurried descent earlier today.

A 30-second clip shows the bundles of yellow, camouflaged down making their way out of the nest one by one, although not all of the brood seem anxious to depart.

For some, it was like a duckling taking to the water, as they descended at speed, their fragile bodies, weighing around an ounce, bouncing on the ground, leaving them to waddle off and look for sanctuary.

Others were not agile. One got stuck in twigs and needed shifting by its dropping siblings, another looked reluctant to jump and waddled back to the safety of the downy nest before eventually building up courage to make the jump.

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As the BBC posted the short clip of the mass exodus, show aficionados took to Twitter to pour out their delight at the uplifting scenes.

“This is just ridiculously cute, had me squealing all the way through,” wrote one viewer.

“That is the best thing I've seen on #springwatch so far,” said another viewer. “Can't help but love the mandarin ducks .”

While one nature lover pleaded: “Can someone please place little parachutes on them… I can’t watch.”

Springwatch have been following the mother mandarin while she has been incubating her 15 eggs (Image: SG)

Fears for the ducklings as they enter the big world also occupied viewers, with one commenting: “That landing must hurt. Brave little ducks, good luck to them all.”

Mandarin ducks have made a remarkable colonisation since the first birds were brought to Britain in the 1930s, yet coming days will prove a testing time for the youngsters as they face a host of predators that could swallow them hole.

Springwatch cameras have been recording the savage side of nature at the National Trust’s Sherborne Park Estate in the Gloucestershire Cotswolds, base for the popular BBC Two show’s 15th season.

Co-presenter Michaela Strachan looked visibly shaken on Monday night when cameras captured a little owl killing a baby blackbird, only for a weasel to then attack a whitethroat’s nest, leaving the youngsters to vanish without trace.